“A Call to Prayer… For Our City, Our Region, Our Nation!” held by the Bishops of the Multicultural & Multi-Ethnic Prayer Movement’s Mid-Atlantic and Southern divisions. (Courtesy Photo)
The bishops of the Multicultural & Multi-Ethnic Prayer Movement’s Mid-Atlantic and Southern divisions held “A Call to Prayer… For Our City, Our Region, Our Nation!” on the evening of Oct. 30 and the morning of Oct 31 at the Created For So Much More Worship Center in Baltimore’s Cherry Hill neighborhood.
The organization’s Mid-Atlantic division has more than 400 member churches. They were joined by Florida Pastor Jonathan L. McKnight from the group’s Southern division. Among the approximately 100 attendees were Md. Lieutenant Governor Boyd Rutherford, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby, Baltimore City Councilman and mayoral candidate Nicholas J. Mosby, Wanda Watts on behalf of candidate and former Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon and Lieutenant Colonel Melvin Russell on behalf of Baltimore City Police Commissioner Kevin Davis.
The event was held to pray for Baltimore as the city rebuilds from riots earlier this year, and also with a change in leadership on the horizon, but also to raise the level of prayer in the city. The slogan “Prayer is a must” was used onstage by Bishop Angel Nunez, who along with other spiritual leaders led the audience gathered in corporate prayer. He admitted that he borrowed the phrase from McKnight.
The prayers were lead by Pastor Benjun of River of Life Church in White Marsh, Md., as well as Nunez of Bilingual Christian Church, Bishop Marcus Johnson of New Harvest Ministries, Pastor Frances “Toni” Draper of Freedom Temple AME Zion Church, Bishop Willard Saunders of Created for So Much More Worship Center, all of Baltimore, and Bishop Harry Jackson of Hope Christian Church in Washington, D.C. along with McKnight.
The program’s eight “generals” led the audience in a prayer for the police of the city, tasked with the tremendous duty of keeping Baltimore’s citizens safe. The officers in attendance came to the altar where they were encircled by the bishops and prayed over. The ritual was repeated for each of the elected officials on hand that evening, as attendees prayed for guidance, virtue, discipline, clarity and righteousness. After that, McKnight spoke momentarily on the power of prayer.
A joyous atmosphere permeated the room, as many people were seen crying and applauding throughout the program.